By Shree Ann Mathavan

THESE hot zones are getting a cool reception from travellers.

Protesters in Thailand and terrorists in India have dealt a blow to tourism.

In the past week, both countries have made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In Bangkok, a siege by thousands of protesters on Tuesday left its two airports closed and thousands of travellers stranded.

Then, Mumbai was hit by a terrorist attack on Wednesday. More than 140 people were killed and hundreds more injured, many of them guests at luxury hotels.

In Singapore, almost all tours to Bangkok have been cancelled, postponed or changed to other destinations till year-end.

And while bookings to Mumbai have not yet shown a fall, the advice for travellers is: Don't go there now.

Most travel agencies The New Paper spoke to said bookings for Bangkok have come to a standstill.

Miss Ruth Lim, marketing and communications manager at SA Tours, noted that there have been no bookings since protesters invaded the Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday.

The Thai government later declared a state of emergency there as well as at the Don Muang airport.

Bangkok is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Singaporeans, especially for the shopping bargains and spa getaways.

Ms Alicia Seah, senior vice-president of marketing and PR at CTC Holidays, noted that overall demand for Thailand as a holiday destination has dropped drastically since the protests started in May.

She noted that bookings for the September to December period were down 80 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Cancellations

The immediate impact of the airport siege was that 20 passengers who were due to travel to Bangkok in the past week called to change or cancel their travel plans.

Chan Brothers Travel also had 30 cancellations this weekend.

Ms Seah said: 'The political turmoil is definitely detrimental to the tourism industry in the long run.'

Ms Seah noted however that as demand for Thailand is at an all-time low, they are promoting alternative destinations.

She said: 'Macau, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia have all seen an incremental increase.'

There would definitely be a loss of income for the Thai travel industry, the travel agencies here said.

An Associated Press report noted that tourist income to Thailand during the peak period of October to February could slump by as much as half of the earlier estimate of 240 billion baht ($10.2 billion).

The report, which quoted Mr Kongkrit Hiranyakit, head of the Tourism Council of Thailand, added that the country may take half a year or more to recover from the fallout from the airport closure.

As for losses incurred by travel agencies, this would be minimal as almost all airlines and hotels have extended full refunds for changes to travel plans within a stipulated period.

The travel agencies said leisure travel to violence-stricken Mumbai isn't as directly affected.

This is largely because the Indian city is more of a business destination than a holiday hotspot. Most travellers are likely to be there on business or visiting relatives.

Ms Jane Chang, senior marketing communications executive of Chan Brothers Travel, noted that the agency had five tickets booked for Mumbai on flights departing next week. These have not been cancelled, she said.

SA Tours said it does not have any group tours to Mumbai, and individual bookings have so far remained constant, even after the terrorist attack.

However, Miss Lim noted: 'As a precautionary measure, we will advise anyone who is intending to go there.'

Travellers will be asked to register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, avoid areas where there may be violence and, if possible, postpone plans to go to Mumbai.

The agencies also noted that other Indian holiday destinations such as Kerala have remained popular with tours proceeding as usual.

And, in spite of the turmoil, the agencies remain optimistic that Bangkok as a travel destination will recover.

Ms Seah is hopeful of a recovery by the next peak period, Chinese New Year.

She noted: 'Singaporeans being Singaporeans tend to have a short memory, and once this is over, they are likely to visit again.'

Miss Chang agreed. However, she added: 'The duration would depend on how the Thai government resolves the current political differences in a manner that re-instills visitors' confidence in the country.'

Once the situation improves, she said promotions to Bangkok 'will be definitely ramped up'.

This story was first published in The New Paper on Nov 29, 2008.